The association between glucose dynamics and energy intake in young, healthy women

Background:Glucose has been implicated in the control of appetite and food intake. This study investigated whether glycaemic patterns relate to energy intake and whether appetite-related hormones mediate this relationship.Methods:Thirty healthy young women (age: 25 ± 4 years; BMI: 21.4 ± 2.0 kg/m2) arrived at the laboratory at 8:00 AM after an overnight fast. Upon arrival, participants completed a 30-minute resting period, during which the cannula was inserted, and all fasted glucose measurements were collected. Glucose was measured every 5 minutes using FreeStyle Libre 2™ continuous glucose monitors (CGM), and one venous plasma glucose sample was obtained immediately after cannula insertion. Following the 30-minute fasting measurement period, participants consumed a fixed breakfast and then remained in the laboratory for an additional 240 minutes. Glucose was monitored via CGM every 5 minutes and via venous plasma (VPG) every 15 minutes after breakfast. Energy intake was assessed at 240 minutes using an ad-libitum homogeneous pasta meal. Subjective appetite ratings were collected fasted and every 15 minutes after breakfast. Appetite-related hormones, including insulin, acylated ghrelin (AG), total glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and oxyntomodulin (OXM) were measured in the fasted state, immediately after breakfast (t = 0 minute), and subsequently at 30-minute intervals after breakfast until t =240 minutes. Menstrual cycle phase was recorded and included as a covariate in all analyses. Associations between glycaemic variables and satiety or energy intake were examined using generalised linear models with a gamma distribution and log link function, adjusting for BMI and menstrual cycle phase. Bootstrap-based causal mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate whether appetite-related hormones mediated any significant associations between glycaemic responses and satiety or energy intake.Results:CGM-derived glucose nadir (lowest concentration) and dip (deviation of nadir from baseline as a percentage) were significantly associated with subsequent energy intake. A higher glucose nadir was associated with lower energy intake (β = 0.17; p Conclusions:Glucose dynamics including nadir and dip may influence satiety and subsequent energy intake. These data support for a role of glucose in models of appetite regulation.© the authors